The same beloved sandwich, only made party-sized using cocktail rye bread! Rich, sweet, caramelized onions piled on top of a mini burger, grilled in butter on cocktail rye bread between layers of creamy, melty, white American cheese! The perfect party appetizer sammie!

We loved these first ones so much, though, that not only have I had a LOT of fun making several different kinds now, but have ideas for more that will be coming soon!!

But, they all have one thing in common, and that’s “cocktail bread”! (Remember those cute little loaves that were so popular back in the 70’s and 80’s?) Well, they still make them, and they’re just as good as you remember, too!

They come in several different flavors, but today we’re using strictly rye. We’re going total classic for these!

And just look how many slices there are!! One loaf goes a very long way! (*And bread is freezer-friendly, too, for any you may have left over!)

These are so easy and SO GOOD! You’re just going to LOVE these! We simply start by caramelizing onions in some delicious real butter by Minerva Dairy, garlic, worcestershire and soy sauces, and some seasonings!

Then we just break up the ground beef into a large bowl.

*Breaking up the meat makes it a LOT easier to mix the ingredients into the meat without over mixing it and turning it into mush. That will make for a very tough, hard patty later, and we sure don’t want that!

After we add extra flavor to the beef, shape the meat into 16 patties! (About 12 will fit on one baking sheet.)

And season the tops with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t be shy with it!

Then start cooking the patties in batches placing them onto the pan seasoned side down. (You can use two frying pans to make this go faster!)

And don’t forget to season the other side!

Then just fry them until golden on both sides! You can cook them all the way through, or leave a little pink in the middle. This part is totally up to you.

But since I was using just regular ol’ “Wally World” meat, I decided to cook ours all the way through.

Once they’re all done, place them onto a plate or platter and tent them to keep them warm.

Just look how cute these are! I know!! Perfect for a party!

Now we start to get everything assembled! Place some rye cocktail bread slices onto a baking sheet and top them with white (or yellow) American cheese.

*We always buy the white because it doesn’t have any food coloring in it. (The only difference between the two!) And we also buy the long package of unwrapped slices, as they seem to be sliced a little thicker.

Then top each with a mini burger patty and spoonfuls of onions.

Don’t be stingy with them, pile them on!

Then add more cheese….

…and place them onto a heated griddle into small melted pools of butter.

Don’t overcrowd them on your pan(s), though, or you’ll have a difficult time by not having enough room to turn them over later.

Butter one side of more slices of bread and place them on top, (buttered side up).

Toast the bottoms the same way that you’d make a grilled cheese, toasting them until the bottoms are deep golden brown and the bottom layer of cheese is melting.

*Tip for ya! While cooking the second batch, I learned that placing the sandwiches onto the griddle pan with the onions on the bottom layer worked the best! They were much easier to turn!

But no worries. If some of the onions fall out, or a little cheese starts to leak onto the pan, just use the corner of your spatula to shove it right back in there! No biggie!

Once they’re done on both sides, simply transfer them to a cutting board and let them rest a minute.

We found that slicing them in half made them easier to eat!

So, cut them corner-to-corner using a very sharp knife!

Though these are actually very small, they’re also VERY filling! And slicing them in half made them go a lot farther!!

Which is also nice for a party-sized appetizer! 16 sandwiches makes 32 halves! So if there are other appetizers out, this can really go far! I would still count on two halves per person, though.

My hubby thought that these were so good, that he had me hold off for awhile thinking that they were contest-worthy! He didn’t want me to share the recipe!!

But these Mini Party Patty Melts were just too good NOT to share! So here ya go!! I KNOW that you’re going to absolutely LOVE these! And they’re just so perfect for parties, lunches and snacks, that you can make a whole batch of patties and freeze them for whenever you want a hearty appetizer or lunch that’s filling, easy to make, pocketbook friendly, and SO darned tasty!!

Be sure to save these to your Pinterest Boards for safe keeping! Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Super Bowl Sunday are right around the corner and these would make for the perfect party snack! Hope you all enjoy!!

Mini Party Patty Melts

Mini Party Patty Melts Author: Kelly@wildflourskitchen.com

Ingredients

For Burgers:

2 - 2.25 lbs. hamburger

1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce

1 Tbl. soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

For Onions:

4 Tbl. Minerva Dairy Butter

2 medium-large onions, halved and sliced thinly

1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce

2 lg. cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Rest of Ingredients:

1 loaf cocktail rye bread

slices white or yellow American cheese

1 stick softened Minerva Dairy Butter, or as much as needed (divided)

Instructions

In large bowl, crumble meat breaking up to allow ease of mixing in ingredients later so as not to over-mix. Drizzle evenly with Worcestershire and soy sauces, and lightly mix in with your hands. Form into small patties slightly larger than bread slices, cover, and set aside. (Chill if not cooking right away.)

In large frying pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, salt and pepper, and Worcestershire, and sauté until golden browned. Add garlic, and sauté one minute longer. Set aside.

In second large frying pan or flat griddle, get hot over medium heat, add patties, (as many as will fit at a time), and fry on both sides until golden browned on the outside, and done to your liking on the inside. Remove to a plate and tent to keep warm. Do in several batches, rinsing out pan and wiping clean between each batch.

In same pan or on flat griddle, heat over medium-low heat until hot again. Melt half of a stick of butter right on pan, spread out, and place slices of cocktail rye on butter. Top with cheese, a salted and peppered beef patty, a small spoonful of onions, more cheese, and top with a buttered slice of rye (buttered side up). Cook sandwiches until golden browned on bottoms, carefully turn over, and fry other sides until cheese has fully melted and bottoms are golden browned.

Remove to a cutting board and slice in half corner-to-corner if desired, then place onto a serving platter.